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Lincoln to Palin: Republican convention slide show

MaggieMcNeil

Slide 1 of 11

1860 — Abraham Lincoln changes everything

The convention of 1860 was only the second national convention of the newly formed Republican Party, and took place in Chicago against the intensifying drumbeat of civil-war talk. The Republican Party, and Lincoln, had taken a firm stand against expanding slavery out of the South and into new U.S. territories, and the Democratic Party had split into two factions over the issue. Lincoln was nominated on the third ballot, and subsequently won the election by sweeping the North, but getting no votes in the South — where he was reviled for his anti-slavery views. Before he was inaugurated, the first seven Southern states seceded from the union and formed the Confederacy, and the march to war had begun.

Next: 1912 — The original spoiler

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1912 — Teddy Roosevelt, the original spoiler?

The convention of 1912 was one of the most acrimonious of its kind. Former President Teddy Roosevelt, who’d been out of office for one term after a popular eight years in the White House, had split with the Republican president, William Howard Taft, over Taft’s approach to big business. Roosevelt decided to run for a third term, and won nine key state primaries. But the Republican establishment backed Taft at the Chicago convention. After four nasty days, Roosevelt and his supporters walked out and formed a third party, popularly known as the Bull Moose Party. The split in the Republican vote led to the election of Democrat Woodrow Wilson. It was the first vivid example of how a third party, even if it’s unable to win the election, can change the outcome.

Next: 1924 — On the air waves

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1924 — Silent Cal on the airwaves

The convention of 1924 was not notable for the nomination of the incumbent President Calvin Coolidge, who easily won the top slot on the first ballot. Nor was it memorable for the personality of the distinctly uncharismatic Coolidge. In fact, the Democratic convention that year was more noteworthy in many ways — lasting 15 days and holding a record 103 roll-call votes to chose the eventual nominee. But the 1924 Republican convention claims fame as the first national convention to be broadcast live on the radio — the exciting new technology of the day. AT&T and RCA radio networks broadcast the convention to fewer than 40 stations around the country. It marked the beginning of radio’s importance in politics and gave the American listener at home an upfront seat in the convention hall.

Next: 1940 — Television arrives

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1940 — Television arrives

By the time of the Republican convention of 1940 in Philadelphia, television, while in its infancy, was beginning to make its mark. The 1940 convention was the first national convention broadcast on live TV, to a small viewing audience mainly in the New York City and Philadelphia areas. The dramatic nomination of dark-horse Wendell Willkie was carried by NBC pioneer W2XBS in New York, which aired more than nine hours of continuous coverage. Television coverage of the conventions mushroomed as the medium’s popularity soared, reaching its zenith in the 1960s and early 1970s with gavel-to-gavel broadcasting.

Next: 1964 — The Woodstock of the Right

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1964 — Barry Goldwater comes in from the right

It’s been called the Woodstock of the Right. With a backdrop comprising an escalating war in Vietnam, the civil-rights movement and continued Cold War fears, an anxious Republican Party split between moderates and conservatives convened in San Francisco in 1964. Sen. Barry Goldwater of Arizona was the standard-bearer for conservative Republicans, and moderate party members were in disarray. Goldwater was demolished by President Lyndon Johnson in November, winning only his home state and five states in the Deep South. But the Goldwater wins in the South have been credited by many as the beginning of the end for the Democrats’ long hold on that region. And a dramatic speech by Ronald Reagan for Goldwater during the campaign launched Reagan’s political career.

Next: 1972 — Pat Nixon in the spotlight

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1972 — Pat Nixon takes the podium

It didn’t change the world, but it turned out to be one of the nicer moments for the Republican Party before a disgraced Richard Nixon resigned the presidency two years later. The first lady was known for keeping a low profile, but the Miami Beach convention in 1972 found her husband at the peak of his power and her as a seasoned political wife who’d grown comfortable in that role. Her speech to the convention was the first time a Republican first lady had addressed a national convention. It also ended a 32-year span — after Eleanor Roosevelt spoke in 1940 — in which no convention was addressed by a first lady. Now it’s common, and even expected, practice.

Next: 1976 — The nominee in waiting

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1976 — Ronald Reagan becomes the nominee in waiting

The Republican convention of 1976 in Kansas City was the last that took place without the nominee’s already having been decided in the primaries. Incumbent President Gerald Ford and former California Gov. Ronald Reagan had waged a fierce battle in the primaries, but neither had won enough delegates for nomination by the time of the August convention. Both men came to town early to win over uncommitted delegates. In an effort to placate moderate and liberal Republicans, Reagan chose moderate Pennsylvania Sen. Richard Schwiecker as his running mate; the tactic didn’t work, however, and Ford locked up the nomination. But Reagan had established himself in the eyes of many as being the “heart of the Republican Party” and became the nominee in waiting, winning the Republican nomination and the White House in 1980.

Next: 1992 — The war on culture

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1992 — Pat Buchanan and the war on culture

Conservative Pat Buchanan staged the first of his three unsuccessful runs for president in 1992, running against an incumbent President George H.W. Bush in the primaries. Bush’s popularity was fading as his first term was coming to a close, and Buchanan earned enough votes during the primaries to get him the keynote-speaker slot in Houston. The outspoken Buchanan delivered a blistering speech commonly known as the “Culture War Speech” in which he called the election “a cultural war ... for the soul of America.” He attacked the Democratic nominee, Bill Clinton, and his wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton, as radically liberal and a threat to American values.

Next: 2008 — An average hockey mom

Slide 9 of 11

2008 — Sarah Palin makes a splashy debut

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s debut on the national political scene was historic and electrifying. The 44-year-old Palin was the first woman on a Republican presidential ticket, chosen by the 72-year-old John McCain to energize the ticket and the party. Palin’s speech at the convention in St. Paul, Minn., was an unquestioned home run. She tore into Democratic nominee Barack Obama, calling him two-faced and inexperienced, and she referred to herself as “an average hockey mom.” The delegates loved her. But as the campaign progressed, voters grew more negative toward Palin and questioned her qualifications. Palin has since established herself as an influential voice among conservative Republicans and is a fixture on the national political scene.

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